A Year (almost) of motherhood - 10 things I wish I'd known a year ago

Natalie Lue writes....

1. Turn your phone off when your due date arrives.

We got inundated with texts, emails, and phonecalls/messages from around the world as soon as the 18th May arrived. What the frick did these people think? That the baby would shoot out at the stroke of midnight?

2. Stuff your face just before you go to hospital

I know food might be the last thing on your mind when you're in labour agony, but it could be the last meal you eat for at least a day, if not two days. The boyf made the mistake of going to Nando's during the labour and from the moment he came back with a vague smell of finely cooked chicken, I convinced myself for the next 36 hours that despite a catheter, I was starving.

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Posted by on May 21, 2008 9:22 AM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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How The Daily Mail misrepresented, lied to and mislead blogger and author Natalie Lue

The fantastically feisty and incredibly audacious blogger, Natalie Lue, is best known for her successful blogs, Baggage Reclaim, Tired of Men, Bambino Goodies and her new ebook The Mr Unavailable Guide. (Not to mention her popular motherhood column right here on Dollymix!) However, after a recent "interview" in the Daily Mail's Femail, journalist Laura Topham would have you think her entire writing career was based on seeking bitter revenge on her ex finance.

In the article Don't Get Mad, Get E-venge! Natalie Lue was misrepresented, mislead, and lied to by The Daily Mail as a result of Ms.Topham's lazy - if not sleazy- journalism. Natalie Lue explains here on Dollymix what REALLY happened in her interview with The Daily Mail, and why her blogging is not based on revenge...

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Posted by on May 7, 2008 4:30 PM in In The News...| Natalie Lue| Work and Business
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Motherhood: Why I love being self-employed

I was very excited to read this great post over at Problogger which highlights the rise and rise of blogs written by moms (we say 'mum' over here) giving five reasons why mum blogs are getting very powerful and growing very quickly and it got me thinking about the multitudes of mums that are considering the self-employed route, and why I find being self-employed so attractive.

I'm not involved in BS and politics
Having 'the bambino' made it a lot easier to make the leap to being self-employed because like many mothers, I found that the reality of returning to work was bum achingly unpleasant. I haven't had an internal meeting for months and I don't discuss things to the nth degree for weeks on end whilst egos clash and nothing actually gets accomplished.

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Posted by on May 6, 2008 12:57 PM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: Can't Kerry Katona shut the Special K up?

I was going to write about something totally different today until I passed a copy of OK magazine where Kerry Katona, the self-declared UK version of Britney Spears (to be fair to Britney she has a talent so this is harsh of Kerry) proclaiming "I've lost two stone in a week eating Special K!"

Now four things sprung to mind when I read this:

1) What did she have? Dysentery?
2) Are Special K that desperate?
3) Well that's put me right off Special K which to be fair I wasn't in danger of eating as I don't like brands that try to flog your self-esteem to flog their product - Can you pinch more than an inch?
4) Kerry Katona, OK magazine, and Special K are irresponsible f*ckwits.

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Posted by on April 29, 2008 4:44 PM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: confessions of a crackerjack mother

Natalie Lue writes....
Regular readers of my column will know that I can't bear all the presence that seems to accompany motherhood, so I thought I'd share...

The bambino loves éclairs

You know all those times when I couldn't make it to the basket checkout in Waitrose without picking up a 4 pack of éclairs? Well the eagle-eyed bambino has a feverish curiosity about them. So I let her taste a bit one day - no chocolate, just the pastry and cream and now if I come within fifty paces of her with an éclair, she'll practically attack me for it.

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Posted by on April 15, 2008 3:10 PM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: it's not taboo to say that motherhood isn't easy. Let's stop pretending!

Natalie Lue writes....
There was a moment last Friday when I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I had been working for most of the morning and the bambino had decided to be in a super hyper mood. As she proceeded to empty out my filing, tear up my to-do list (probably wasn't going to be used anyway...), and find the crusts left from my breakfast and either eat them or sprinkle them all over my bedroom and inside the bed, I felt like hurling myself on the floor and having a toddler tantrum.

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Posted by on April 1, 2008 4:17 PM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: apparently maternity leave is a 'career break'

Natalie Lue writes...

I had The Big Discussion about me returning to work and some horrible little words were uttered. No, he didn't say "When is the baby due?" but he did say "Well you have had a career break".

Now call me insane, but since when is going on maternity leave considered to be a "career break"? Is this what Those Who Can't Give Birth With a Penis and Two Balls believe maternity leave is all about? If so, therein lies the crux of the problem because if this is how employers perceive you taking the time that they claim you're entitled to, it's no wonder that so many women struggle when they do return to work.

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Posted by on March 18, 2008 9:51 AM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: OK, OK, I'll frickin exercise!

Natalie Lue writes...I stepped out of the shower on Sunday and walked past the mirror and caught sight of my untoned stomach mocking me and stomped up to the bedroom. "Boyf! Why didn't you tell me that I'm fat?" I roared and my mind was quickly brought back to the episode of Shameless where Mimi Maguire roars at her drug dealing husband "I have to face it...I'm a fat f*ck.." followed by even more expletives.

Now I know, I'm not actually fat but when I look at myself in the mirror, I see a slim girl with baby weight around the stomach. The whole "I HAVE HAD A C-SECTION YOU KNOW!" excuse can't go on for much longer. The bambino will be a year old at the end of May and unless I pretend I've managed to push out another one, this excuse has reached the end of the line and it's time for me to face the fact that: the sit-up fairy is not going to wave her frickin wand whilst I'm sleeping and it's time for me to exercise. Ugh!

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Posted by on March 11, 2008 3:34 PM in Columnists| Health & Beauty| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: my tips for surviving 'Other Mothers'

Natalie Lue writes...

I went to my local mum and baby group today with my latptop in my bag with hopes of catching up on some work undisturbed by emails. Of course I didn't even get a chance to open it as I felt guilt set in at being perceived as stand-offish. As I struggled not to nod off, I realized that I'm not so daunted by mum and baby groups anymore but I'm still wary of 'Other Mothers' so I've compiled a list of handy tips for surviving the rat race of hanging with 'Other Mothers'.

Manage down thy expectations.

If you think it's going to be all singing, all dancing, lovey-wovey girlie whirly support where you are kind to each other and become each other's best friends by virtue of popping at the same time, you're about to be sorely disappointed. Try to think of any one occasion, time, or place when you can get a group of women together without some form of bitching, sniping, and distinctly unsisterly behaviour, and then ask yourself why you want to revolutionise the wheel. If you meet people that you can call your friends, it's a bonus.

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Posted by on March 4, 2008 5:18 PM in Columnists| Motherhood| Natalie Lue
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Motherhood: is there such a thing as a work-life balance?

Natalie Lue writes...

Sometimes I feel like I’m going demented as I try to be a juggler in my crazy circus that I call life. It’s fair to say that I’m dropping a few proverbial balls. As I try to balance freelancing with being a mum, one of the recurring thoughts is: How the hell do other mothers do it? Where is this famous work-life balance?

I’ve wanted to work for myself for the past few years and now here I am with the opportunity and much as I’m loving it, the work never frigging stops! You see, when men go to work or even work for themselves, their work is their ‘work’. They get the shagging train, spend a day at the office or wherever, and come home and essentially their work is done. For women, when we return to work, even if it’s a well paid job, it can often feel like you’re a poor woman working two jobs to make ends meet, because you clock out from one shift and start on the next, or if you’re anything like me, you may even be trying to do your two ‘jobs’ at the same time.

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Posted by on February 27, 2008 1:26 PM in Columnists| Natalie Lue
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